Archive for the ‘juicing’ Category

Age spots sometimes also known as liver spots, solar lentigines or senile lentigines are most often caused by damage to the skin from sun exposure. However there are a number of other factors that can contribute to one developing age spots. Poor liver function, lack of exercise, poor diet and the accumulation of waste products in the system all contribute to the development of age spots.

Here are a few thing you can do to reduce your chances of developing age spots and in some cases eliminate age spots that have already formed.

Get plenty of exercise, try to exercise at least 4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Limit your sun exposure and when you do spend time in the sun be sure to use sun block.

Cleanse your liver by drinking beet juice. Start out with two to three ounces and gradually increase to six ounces of juice a day.

More and more people are becoming aware how important pH levels are in achieving and maintaining good health. Your pH level is effected by variety of different factors including endocrine function, kidney function, breath and lung function and diet. Of these factors the one two that we have the most direct control are our breathing habits and what we eat on a regular basis. The focus of this site is Juicing and nutrition so I will not go into the importance and health benefits of deep. But for anyone truly interested in living a healthier lifestyle I would highly recommend picking up a copy of Dr. Andrew Weil’s book titled “Breathing”.

As for diets role in pH it’s pretty simple. Most of the food we eat on a daily basis in America is acid forming. Foods like bread, meat, high sugar content foods including fruit, etc all fall into this category and have an acidifying effect on the body. To balance out this acid our body is forced to pull alkalinity from its reserves like the calcium in our bones. We can help keep our pH levels balanced by eating foods which have a alkalizing effect on the body. These foods are foods like vegetables, leafy greens and wheatgrass. Our modern American diets are so high in acid forming foods its difficult to get enough greens to balance out the acid. Fortunately juicing on veggies on a regular basis makes it a lot easier.

I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago and it has become one of my favorite. It is similar to Green Goo with the addition of a few extra greens surprisingly the extra greens make Garden Delight taste quite a bit different than Green Goo. To make this recipe you will need one half an organic cucumber, 2 stalks of organic celery, two fists full of spinach, a hand full of frisee (you should be able to find this at your local health food store) and 1/4 of a head of organic cabbage.

Make sure you thoroughly was everything before running it through your juicer, especially the frisee as frisse tends to have dirt hiding in its leaves.

This juice is packed with vitamins and thanks to the cabbage and frisee, has a lightly sweet flavor to it.

As long its organic, most fruit and vegetable skin is safe to juice. However there are a few exceptions to this rule. As a general rule the peel form citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes should not be juiced as they contain d-limonene which is classified as a toxin and can be harmful if consumed in large quantities. However the white pithy part of the peel can safely be juiced.

It is also a good idea to peal any fruits that have been imported from third world countries before you juice them. Often times health standards in these countries do not prohibit the use of toxic chemicals and pesticides which you do not want to be consuming.

Many seeds are safe to juice but there are a few exceptions. Apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide and should not be juiced most pits such as plum pits, cheery pits, peach pits etc should not be juiced. It is fine to juice watermelon seeds, grape seeds and citrus seeds.

If you are unsure about the safety of juicing a specific seed it is best to look it up or just remove the seed to be safe.

Calcium is one of the most abundant minerals on earth and an essential part of a healthy diet. Even though calcium is so abundant many people’s diets deficient in this important mineral. Calcium is important in the formation and maintenance of strong bones. Recent studies have shown that increased calcium intake actually reduces the risk of kidney stones. Calcium is also a pH buffer which can help to balance a overly acidic diet. Many people are discovering that they are sensitive to dairy products but fortunately many vegetables are loaded with calcium and can be used to meet the recommended daily allowance. Here is a great juice recipe which is loaded with calcium.

Drink a quart of cabbage juice a day for three weeks to get rid of an ulcer. It sounds like one of those old wives tiles that’s most likely too good to be true right? Well this old wives tale has been put to the test and it turns out it just might actually work!

Over the years there have been a number studies done on whether cabbage juice can help to heal ulcers. Starting with one done from 1949 to 1952 at Stanford University by Dr. Garrett Cheney. Dr. Chaney states that patients given cabbage juice “showed remarkable improvement within three weeks”. He goes on to state that the high levels of glutamine and S-methylmethionine found in cabbage juice may be responsible for its effectiveness.

Another series of studies found deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) a Licorice extract to have powerful healing effects for those suffering from both gastric and duodenal ulcers. DGL in chewable supplement form can be found in most health food stores.

Even though cabbage is leafy it has a pretty high juice content so a masticating juicer is not needed for juicing.

Why should I juice my vegetables when I eat plenty of fresh salad and veggies every day as it is? I get this question from time to time and it’s a really good question. In fact when I first got into juicing it was one of the questions I had. Well it turns out there are a few very good reasons why its beneficial to juice vegetables.

When you juice vegetables and salad greens the juicer does all the work of extracting the nutrients so your body doesn’t have to. It takes a considerable amount of energy for your body to break down food. When you juice your vegetables most of that work is done for you allowing your body to rest and still receive the nutrients only found in fresh veggies.

By juicing vegetables you consume them raw and most vegetables deliver higher vitamin levels in their raw form. When you cook your veggies most of the natural enzymes are destroyed along with other vital nutrients.

Most of us don’t get anywhere close to the recommended 5-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day ( Recommended Dietary Allowances). By making fruit and vegetable juice a regular part of our diet it is much easier to have a properly balanced diet.

Kids like juice. It’s a lot easier to get your kids to drink a delicious glass of vegetable juice mixed with some apple juice for flavor, than it is to get them to eat steamed vegetables.

These are just a few of the many reasons that adding fresh organic fruit and vegetable juice to your diet is a great idea. Remember if you want to be able to juice salad greens and wheatgrass you will need a masticating juicer.

Who wouldn’t like to slow down the aging process? While so far no one has discovered a magic elixir which will entirely halt the aging process, research has shown that certain nutrients, many of which are found in high concentrations if vegetable juice, do have the ability to reduce many of the visible signs of aging, help prevent certain types of disease, and even extend our life expectancy.

The Standard American Diet or (SAD) is directly responsible for the top five diseases in the United States. By reducing our intake of refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, cholesterol and sugar and eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds we are providing our body with the essential nutrients it needs for good health.

In their book titled Raw Energy, Leslie and Susannah Kenton state that by eating a raw foods diet a person can radically improve not only there over all health but also their appearance. They explain that after even two weeks on a raw foods diet people have tighter skin softer facial lines, and that their eyes, skin and hair take on a health glow.

An essential tool for anyone exploring a raw foods diet is a good quality juicer. The juicer of choice for a raw foods diet is one of the newer masticating juicers. These juicers do minimal damage to essential vitamins, enzymes and other nutrients.

Juice fasting is one of the quickest and easiest ways to detoxify your body. People have been using fasting throughout recorded history. Often times this would take the form of a water fast. A water fast if performed properly has a powerful healing effect on the body but can also be quite uncomfortable at times due to the rapid release of toxins into the blood stream. An excellent alternative to the water fast is to do a vegetable juice fast. When fasting on vegetable juice you still experience many of the health benefits of a traditional water fast but without the discomfort of putting your body through a rapid detox. If you are new to fasting it’s a good idea to start out slow with maybe a one to three day fast to get your mind and body used to the experience of going without food. Here are a few more tips that will help to make your first vegetable juice fast a positive, healing experience.

1. Start your fast when you have a few days off from work so that you can allow your body to rest during the fast.

2. Try to do all your shopping for your juice fast prior to starting the fast. By doing this you will save yourself the temptation of walking through a supermarket while on your fast.

3. You may want to add a little water to your vegetable juice in the beginning to dilute it a bit. If your new to vegetable juicing the taste can be a bit strong until you get used to it.

4. Drink as much juice as you like during the fast. Vegetable juice is packed with important nutrients and has an alkalizing effect on the system which will help to flush out built up toxins.

5. When you’re ready to break your fast do it slowly. For a three day fast start out with a salad topped with lemon juice for your fist meal and maybe some steamed veggies. Then gradually reintroduce more solid food over the following day or two.

One more thing to remember when juice fasting is to make sure to only use Organic vegetables. It’s also a good idea to juice your veggies using a masticating juicer rather than a centrifugal juicer. Masticating juicers leave more of the nutrients in tacked.

There are literally dozens of different styles fruit juicer on the market. Many of them share common features but a few have some pretty interesting and useful innovations. Take the L’ Equip 110.5 Mini pulp ejector juicer for example. On this model the manufacturer has designed a extra large three inch diameter feed tube which allows you to juice whole fruit without the need for slicing. This is pretty cool as it reduces prep time by quite a bit!

One thing to note for owners of this model juicer is that it’s still very important make sure that you thoroughly wash your fruit before juicing it. Fruit is treated with all sorts of pesticides these days that you don’t want to be taking into your body. I have noticed that even some organic fruit is coming with wax on it these days which is kind of disturbing. Don’t get me started. Just make sure to wash everything fruits, veggies, wheatgrass all of it… before juicing.